Moves to Oust Japan PM Ishiba Were Already Underway Within LDP; Members Took Steps to Hold Plenary Meetings, Election

By Masashi Nakata and Yuta Moriyama / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

15:38 JST, July 23, 2025

Moves to oust Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba had already begun within the Liberal Democratic Party before he implied to those around him that he would intend to step down.

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries State Minister Hiroyoshi Sasagawa told reporters on Tuesday that he would collect signatures to call for a joint plenary meeting of LDP lawmakers from both Diet houses to examine the responsibility of the prime minister and others. Holding a joint plenary meeting — a venue for decision-making provided for in the party rules — is expected to involve actual procedures to oust Ishiba.

In addition, some mid-level lawmakers began a signature campaign calling for an early leadership election. Party rules state that a presidential election can be held even before the current leader’s term expires if a majority of lawmakers and representatives from prefectural branches request it.

“We must quickly restore trust in the party and secure victory, and now is the time for a ‘re-election of leadership,’” a text calling for signatures read.

A Yomiuri Shimbun opinion survey conducted immediately after Sunday’s House of Councillors election showed 54% believed Ishiba should resign, highlighting that not only the LDP but also the public was unhappy with Ishiba’s earlier announcement that he would stay in office.

In tandem with this, the approval rating for the Ishiba Cabinet plummeted to 22%. The 20% line is regarded as a level at which it is extremely difficult for a Cabinet to survive.

Ishiba did have support from his allies and some party executives. The day before Sunday’s election, Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiichiro Murakami, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and others who are close to Ishiba gathered at a Tokyo hotel and confirmed their intention to support him even if the ruling party lost its majority in the upper house.

However, on Monday, the Kochi prefectural LDP branch chaired by Nakatani compiled a statement calling for Ishiba’s resignation. Nakatani himself expressed dissatisfaction at a press conference on Tuesday, saying that the statement was made “by some executives in my absence,” but a branch senior official insisted that the statement represented “the unanimous opinion of all executives except Mr. Nakatani.”

A similar statement was issued by the secretary general of the Ehime branch of Murakami’s Constituency. The Tochigi and Ibaraki branches decided Tuesday to demand Ishiba’s resignation.